Notice the above… pretty cool postcard huh? Well it wasn’t just a measly postcard. No, it was much much more… See what it was below the fold:
The crews of the Apollo Program were literally uninsurable by traditional life insurance. From the blog of the website UKinsurancenet
But without a traditional life insurance policy, how could that be possible?
The answer was provided by NASA in the form of ‘Insurance Covers’, as seen here, a number of which were given to every crew member and subsequently signed by every astronaut involved, as close to launch as possible. Its value would instantly be high, but would no doubt sky-rocket (no pun intended) should the astronauts never return; the deceased’s surviving family then at least safe in the knowledge that in future they could cash-in their makeshift insurance policy if required.
There are more examples at the link including a link to an auction company that is selling these.
h/t: BoingBoing
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So who kept them in the end?
I would assume they’re still in the family since they mailed them to their families from Johnson or Cape Canaveral for the date and stamp cancellation.
I have a postcard from Buzz Aldrin that he sent from the cafeteria Apollo 17 built on the moon. He wrote that the food was good, but there’s no atmosphere.
*rimshot*